After a flop show in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the ruling Mahayuti is eyeing women voters to improve its electoral fortune in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024. According to the sources, the Maharashtra government is working on a new scheme to attract women voters before the elections.
Eknath Shinde-led state government is going to present its last budget during the monsoon session of the assembly. A scheme like 'Ladli Behna' might be announced in this budget. 'Ladli Behna' was a hit government policy for women brought by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The policy gave a huge electoral dividend to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh.
In Maharashtra, Under this scheme, the government is planning to provide Rs 1500 per month to poor women aged between 21 to 60 years.
The monsoon session of Maharashtra is starting from June 27 to July 12. Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held after 3 months. Aiming to draw women's votes, the government may announce a key scheme for women.
Taking inspiration from the Madhya Pradesh government, the Shinde government feels that a scheme like Ladli Behna should be initiated in Maharashtra too so that the efforts for women's empowerment can get more strength.
Notably, in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, women voted in almost equal proportion to men. The vote percentage of total male voters of the state was 65.80%, while the vote percentage of female voters was 65.78%. Keeping in mind such a large number of women voters, the government is likely to announce a scheme of Rs 1500 per month for them in the budget.
In the year 2023, the Shinde government started the 'Lek Ladki Scheme'. The purpose of the scheme was to promote the education of daughters. Under the Lek Ladki Scheme, a provision had been made to give a total of Rs 98,000 for the education of the daughter of the family who has a Yellow and Saffron colored ration card from birth till the age of 18 years. Women passengers traveling in the buses of the state government's transport department have already been given a 50 per cent discount in bus fares.
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